Volume 1, Chapter 51 – My Hair, It’s Alive (Part 2)

Huang Qi widened his bright, watery eyes, bracing himself for a surprise as he slowly dipped the comb into the diesel-like fruit juice.

“One breath… two breaths… three breaths…”

Time passed sluggishly. Huang Qi’s eyes ached from staring so hard, yet nothing strange happened.

“That can’t be right. Did I not use enough?”

Unwilling to give up, he crushed the fruit and dragged the comb through the juice repeatedly, like a mason slathering mortar on a wall.

“Tch! Just messing with me!”

After what felt like forever, Huang Qi curled his lips in disdain. Aside from the juice gradually diminishing, there was no miraculous effect whatsoever.

Resigned, he took out a piece of paper to wipe the juice off the comb—only to be shocked when he realized the liquid clung stubbornly like superglue, refusing to come off no matter how hard he tried.

“What the hell? Some kind of stubborn plaster?”

Anger flared in Huang Qi’s heart. He grabbed the Tongming Comb and scraped it against a nearby rock, but to no avail.

“Dammit, I refuse to believe this!”

His frustration turned into reckless determination. He subjected the juice-coated comb to every torture method imaginable—scraping it with a knife, drowning it in water, roasting it over fire. The brutality of his methods would have made even the torturers of the eighteenth layer of hell shake their heads in dismay. Yet, the blackened juice remained unyielding.

“It’s over. I haven’t even turned evil yet, and you’ve already gone full dark mode!”

Reaԁ оո КαtRеаԁіոɡCаfe

Huang Qi wanted to cry but had no tears left. The Tongming Comb in his hand had completely “blackened”. Its original chestnut color was nowhere to be seen, replaced by a sinister, pitch-black sheen that screamed nothing but ill omens.

“The comb’s completely coated now. Does it even still work?”

Suddenly realizing the severity of the situation, Huang Qi threw caution to the wind and dragged the comb through his hair.

Swish!

A single stroke sent a chill down his spine, as if someone had dumped a bucket of ice water over him.

Crack!

Something in his mind seemed to shatter. His muddled thoughts sharpened instantly, fatigue vanishing as if he had just woken from a deep slumber.

“How is this possible?”

Stunned, Huang Qi stared at the Tongming Comb. He couldn’t comprehend why its effects had amplified so drastically after “blackening”. Before, it had been little different from an ordinary comb.

“Was it because of that black juice?”

That was the only explanation he could think of. He inspected the comb again and noticed that much of the juice had been transferred to his hair during that single stroke.

Running his fingers through his hair, he found no trace of black residue—the juice had been absorbed immediately.

“Ah-ha! So you’re hair dye! No wonder you clung to the comb like your life depended on it!”

Reαd oո KаtRеаԁiոɡСαfе

The realization hit him like a bolt of lightning. This juice had an astonishing effect on spiritual sense—it was practically a rare treasure!

Now that he had tasted its benefits, Huang Qi couldn’t hold back. He began combing his hair relentlessly.

“One stroke… five strokes… ten strokes… a hundred strokes…”

By the time he lost count, his spiritual sense had undergone a qualitative breakthrough. To his shock, he could now perform neishi ¹ 内视, nèi shì —internal vision.

“Internal vision! Only Body Refinement cultivators can do this!”

Grinning from ear to ear, Huang Qi peered into his dantian. Not wanting to waste a single drop of the “hair dye”, he crouched down and smeared every last bit of juice onto the comb.

“If I can find seeds, I could plant them and have an endless supply!”

The idea struck him like divine inspiration. He rummaged through the fruit peel and soon discovered a seed the size of a broad bean.

“Hah! Now I can sustain this indefinitely!”

Overjoyed, he carefully pocketed the seed and headed out of the cave. He had stayed inside for so long that he had no idea how much time had passed—he needed to get moving immediately.

As he walked, he continued combing his hair. Anyone watching would have thought him unbearably vain.

When he finally emerged, the surroundings were completely unfamiliar. Fortunately, having visited the prefecture countless times, he could still discern direction based on terrain.

Rеаⅾ оո ΚαtRеaԁiոɡСаfе

Climbing a large tree to survey the area, he quickly pinpointed Ping’an County’s location and resumed his journey. His top priority now was finding someone to ask for the time—he had no idea how long he’d been in that cave.

Step after step, stroke after stroke, by dusk, Huang Qi had combed his hair thousands of times. The juice on the Tongming Comb was nearly depleted, but at that very moment, his spiritual sense broke through yet again.

Without warning, his consciousness surged out of his mind, spreading in all directions. Everything within a radius of several dozen zhang ² 丈, 3.33 meters in metric system —every rustle of grass, every whisper of wind—was laid bare before him. It was as if a frog at the bottom of a well had suddenly leaped out into the vast sky, his “vision” now boundless.

“This… this is what it feels like to project spiritual sense?”

He was so moved he nearly wept. Spiritual sense wasn’t just for detecting hidden enemies—it could also perceive ghosts invisible to the naked eye and even launch attacks. This meant his ability to protect himself had multiplied exponentially.

“Cultivation? What’s that? Shortcuts are the true path to power!”

Huang Qi gloated inwardly. For ordinary cultivators, reaching the Unity Realm in spiritual sense might take a lifetime. Yet here he was, achieving it after just one “hair dye” session!

“Wait… Master once said that for spiritual sense to leave the body, one must break through the Baihui acupoint at the crown of the head and reach the Unity Realm. My cultivation is only at the second layer of Spirit Gathering—so how did my spiritual sense escape?”

As his excitement faded, he quickly noticed the inconsistency. Puzzled, he reached up and touched his head.

Then his eyes bulged as if he’d seen a ghost.

Because he suddenly realized—his hair had sensation.

“How is that possible? Hair doesn’t have nerves! Is it my scalp transmitting the feeling?”

Torn between shock and fear, he grabbed a lock of hair near his chest and gently rubbed it—without tugging on his scalp.

Reαԁ οո КαtReаԁіոɡСafe

Something eerie happened.

A faint, tingling sensation traveled up his fingers.

“Heavens above! My hair is alive!”

He jerked his hand away, his face pale with terror. There was only one explanation—his hair had grown nerves. Such a bizarre phenomenon was unheard of.

Though shaken, Huang Qi had faced ghosts before. He quickly steadied himself and searched for the cause. Soon, his gaze landed on the Tongming Comb—or rather, the nearly exhausted “hair dye” still clinging to it.

“This thing must be the culprit!”

Recalling the sequence of events, he was certain. After all, his hair had only gained sensation after using it. But so what? Aside from cursing at it, there was nothing he could do.

“Dammit! If my hair has feeling now, doesn’t that make me a freak?”

He grumbled under his breath, but soon, a thoughtful expression crossed his face.

“Wait… if there are nerves in my hair, can I… control it?”

The strange idea took root. Concentrating his will, he focused on a strand near his right eye and tried to lift it—just like moving a limb.

Under his watchful gaze, the strand of hair stirred without wind… and slowly rose.